God Grew Tired of Us

USA

Director: Christopher Dillon Quinn

With: John Bul Dau, Panther Bior, Daniel Abul Pach

Run Time: 89 minutes 

Documentary filmmaking at its most powerful, with an inspiring portrait of three former “lost boys” attempting to adjust to life in the U.S.

Sudan’s “lost boys” endured horrible atrocities. Running from Janjaweed militias, they suffered long, desperate hikes through the African wilderness through dire cold and scorching heat, and without water, food or even clothing. After weeks and months on foot, they arrived at overcrowded refugee camps, often orphaned and traumatized. For some, stays at the camps lasted a decade.

However, for three lost boys, their journey takes them to a completely different world. Relocated to the U.S., the young men react to and question the conventions and modern “comforts” of their new homes. Their voyage from the naked panic of the refugee camps to new lives in America is astonishing.

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Offside

Iran

Director: Jafar Panahi

Cast: Sima Mobarak Shahi, Safar Samandar, Shayesteh Irani, M. Kheyrabadi, Ida Sadeghi, Golnaz Farmani

Run Time: 88 minutes

Offside is not simply about women being banned from matches; it is about their rights in a Muslim society.

Like their male compatriots, a group of soccer-crazy young women want to watch a World Cup qualification match. But to enter the stadium, they must pass themselves off as men. The women try to disappear into the crowd, but their deep unease is obvious from their faces and body language. When they approach the security guards at the turnstiles, they must wait to see whether their disguises are successful.

While our sympathies lie with the young women, we remain sensitive to those on the other side of the issue: working-class soldiers and guards who must enforce policies regardless of their personal feelings. 

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Emotional Arithmetic

Canada/United Kingdom

Director: Paolo Barzman

Cast: Susan Sarandon, Gabriel Byrne, Christopher Plummer, Max von Sydow, Roy Dupuis

Run Time: 90 minutes

Powerfully speaks to lasting traumas among those who witness the catastrophes of war as well as those who suffered indirectly.

Melanie was sent to a concentration camp during World War II. There she met an Irish boy named Christopher and a Soviet poet, Jacob Bronski. Jacob took care of the youngsters, who formed a close bond. At the end of the war, the children were repatriated, but Jacob endured hardships in prisons and psychiatric institutions.

Thirty-five years later, Melanie lives a tranquil life with her husband and son, although she has been psychologically unstable since the war. After Jacob is finally freed, Melanie invites Jacob to visit. He brings Christopher with him, forcing everyone in the household to confront their demons and re-evaluate their relationships.